darüber

Forms

darüber^[1] The contracted form drüber is found from the 13th century and was most frequent in the 16th to 18th centuries.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German darüber, inherited from Old High German dara ubiri, made of the adverb dar “thither” and über.^[2][3][4] The first part is thara, an adverb of place answering the question “where to?”, formed from the demonstrative stem Proto-Indo-European *to-, and the second ubiri (“over”), Proto-Germanic *uber-.^[5][6][7] In early Middle High German it was reinterpreted as da + the preposition.^[2] Pfeifer notes that in such combinations the adverbs for “there” and “thither” were mixed up early.^[6]

The same formation is Dutch daarover, Old Frisian therūr, Old Norse þar yfir and English thereover.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the Old High German Georgslied (late 9th century, in a manuscript of about 1000) and in Notker (before 1022).^[2][4] In Old and Middle High German it was mostly spatial, “over it, across it”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Besides place, the word came to refer to the subject of thinking or speaking, to an amount beyond a limit, and to time: Adelung noted that it could mean “meanwhile”, as when time passes or someone dies over a task.^[3][9] Early New High German also used it in a causal sense, “because of that”.^[9] The phrase darüber hinaus “moreover” is now one of its most common uses.^[10]

Timeline

• Late 9th century – The Old High German Georgslied has the word.^[2][4]
• Before 1022 – Notker writes darubere.^[2]
• 13th century – The contracted drüber appears.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Above it, over this place or thing.^[10][1]
2. Over it, onto it or across it.^[10][1]
3. About it, concerning this matter.^[10][1]
4. More, beyond this amount or limit.^[10][11]
5. Meanwhile, in the course of it; and so, because of it.^[10][11]

Word family

• darüber hinaus

Related words

• drüber
• dar
• über
• da

Usage notes

Darüber hinaus means “in addition, moreover”, and colloquial sich darüber machen means “to set about something”.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob Grimm und Wilhelm Grimm, Neubearbeitung (1965–2018), ed. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, 9 vols. (A–F), Leipzig / Stuttgart: Hirzel, p. 6, 338
3. ^ a b Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
5. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 181
6. ^ a b Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
7. ^ Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 938
8. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 2, 795
9. ^ a b Anderson, Robert R.; Goebel, Ulrich; Reichmann, Oskar, eds. (1989–), Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter; FWB-online, fwb-online.de
10. ^ a b c d e f g Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag
11. ^ a b Wiktionary, das freie Wörterbuch (German Wiktionary), de.wiktionary.org